Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) to ridicule, to criticize, to victimize.

1798		‘Answer to Captain Morris’ in Hilaria 71: There [i.e. Ranelagh] girls are ‘loose fishes,’ pull’d up in their turns; /There wives are harpoon’d, and dull husbands get horns.
1840		in Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 21 Nov. 440: She’ll harpoon you yet, if you don’t mind your eye [HDAS].
1914		Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Sl. 43: harpoon [...] to ‘give a person the worst of it.’.
1920		H.C. Witwer Kid Scanlon 190: I knowed if Eddie got a chance to harpoon Joe with Gladys, he’d do that thing.
1938		D. Runyon ‘What, No Butler?’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 391: Ambrose is busy harpooning the actors.
1968		G. Radano Walking the Beat 71: Two or three people who had been walking along paused to watch the motorist get harpooned by the cop.
1974		G. Radano Stories Cops Only Tell Each Other 60: Sergeant Heiden – was out to harpoon me.
1981		A. Bester Deceivers 37: ‘You’re determined to harpoon me, aren’t you.’ ‘Yes, Rogue. I don't like it but . . . yes’.
1996		K. Leman Winning the Rat Race 55: So rather than let her continue to harpoon me, I just went on to the next person.
2000		D. Morehouse Pychic Warrior 151: Mel didn’t plan on missing the chance to harpoon me [...] ‘Didn't you take notes? I think we should give Dave another month or two of training’.